Innkeeper Bonnie met the artist recently at the Louisiana Tourism Summit in Baton Rouge. It is a forum that brings all things Louisiana together in one place annually. She says,

When I first saw the detail in Henry’s work, I thought he had simply painted his subjects on old cypress. It wasn’t until I looked more closely that I noticed that everything was carved first and then accented with colorful paint. I got to meet him and learned that he was a warm, out-going, interesting and uniquely Louisiana man who creates one-of-a-kind artwork that is as individual as the man himself. After hearing him speak about everything that is on his nearby horizon, I knew immediately that I needed to have his work in my house. When I created the Grand Victorian, I named every room after my favorite Louisiana plantations and have always dreamed of having each plantation represented in the form of a unique piece of art. Soon I’ll be able to say “It’s a Watson!”

Each of our guest rooms will boast a special bas-relief painting of the plantation for which it is named: Rosedown, Oak Alley, Greenwood, Magnolia, The Shadows, Evergreen, Destrehan and Nottoway.

The paintings are three dimensional carvings done on 100 year old cypress wood reclaimed by the artist. Watson looks for old buildings, researches to discover who owns the property and how old it is, buys it, then tears down the buildings himself to use the wood.

Watson’s studio is located just outside of New Roads in a 150 year old slave house near scenic False River. His art is drawn from stories told to him by his grandmother and history of the deep south.